Every since the start of civilization Mad Scientists have been suffering from psychological disorders resulting in strange and awkward behaviors.
I’m sure none of this had to do with invading armies; epidemics of exotic diseases, being chased by saber tooth tigers, or cave bears that could run 30 mph. Science has tried to figure out a cure but in most cases we have just created a new word “Disorder”. Psychological disorders have their roots as far back in ancient times with references in early Roman and Egyptian cultures. I’m sure even further back the Shaman or Witch Doctor collected a small fee for treating the blues when you were chosen as the next sacrifice to the Sun God. Today corporate America has gotten into the act. Now if you suffer environmental poisoning the corporate will tell you it’s an environmental induced disorder.
Today, classification of psychological disorders follows a medical model. Classifying psychological disorders is not easy, is harder than it sounds, and is very controversial. That's why only Doctors do it. Every type of human behavior is now classified and if you act different from everyone else it’s called a disorder. 50 years ago if you acted out of line you were called goofy now you may have Attention Deficient Disorder. This problem occurs when you turn the raising of your children over to the School System. When it becomes a medical problem the School can collect money or at worst turn the child over to Doctors. Even though the classification system has disadvantages, it’s safe to say classification outweighs any disadvantages. It provides a means of effective communication between psychologists. This way they can normalize what they charge the insurance companies. The classification system can help psychologists make predictions about the probability that a disorder will occur, who is more likely to develop a certain mental disorder, treatment, and what to charge. Mad Scientists have always been considered crazy, but now we learn it’s just a learning disorder brought on by the consumption of alcohol, drugs (aspirin for the headache from too much alcohol), and wild women. (Most Mad Scientists have only heard of wild women few have ever seen one.)
In 1952 to help make classifying psychological disorders easier the American Psychiatric Association came out with the first system of grouping psychological disorders. We have never looked back. This manual was known as the DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). The 2000 edition is the most current version and includes 17 major classifications and describes more than 200 disorders. The DSM had undergone major changes and will continue to grow as Psychiatric Professional increase their knowledge about psychological disorders. The DSM-IV has added and dropped categories from its manual which has caused major controversial for psychologist who relied heavily on those techniques. Makes you wonder why a category was dropped. Was it due to a 100% cure rate in the category with total eradication of a disorder or did some one make a mistake and include some normal behavior as a disorder. Oops! We labeled you crazy when you are just 5% abnormal. Our techniques are only good to plus and minus 10%. Sorry! Hope we didn’t inconvenience you in any way.
An important feature of the DSM-IV is its multi axis features. It has five axes to accurately diagnose an individual with a mental disorder by characterizing them in terms of a number of factors. The five axes of DSM-IV include:
Axis I: Every diagnostic category except for personality disorders and mental retardation.
Axis II: Mental retardation and personality disorders.
Axis III: Most medical conditions
Axis IV: Social and environmental complications.
Axis V: Current functioning abilities.
Axes I-II describes the majority of psychological disorders, and Axes III-V are not really needed in diagnosing a psychological disorder but are there in considering the person’s over all life situation. For example, an individual may have high blood pressure, an Axis III classification, needs special precautions and treatment because mediation may complicates symptoms for individuals. This way if you’re not crazy now we can prescribe something that will make you crazy, I mean Disordered. An example of Axis IV would be, you were not crazy when you were born but since your Mom and Dad are crazy you are now crazy because of social and environmental complications. Axis V is a catch all for everything else. If you are normal most of the time except when some idiot on their cell phone cuts you off in traffic and you call them 5 or 10 bad words you have developed “Road Rage”. This outbreak can lead to some form of Manic Disorder where a normally calm person want to kill auto drivers.
The initial DSM-IV was put together by a number of mental health professionals and catered to a diverse audience. Much was found to be missing from these manuals because the mental health professionals consisted of mostly white male psychiatrists. Of course back in the 50’s if you weren’t white - you were a major disorder and your behavior was totally self explanatory. The biggest controversial part about the DSM-IV is that symptoms are still described in psychiatric terminology. “You’re F***en crazy or you’re not F***en crazy!” These terms are very hard for the lay person to understand.
Even though more psychologists have participated then ever, it still shows a medical tilt of diagnosing patients and puts less emphasis on external factors such as environmental effect, like the effect your psychologist has on you by telling you. “You have a disorder.” There are also some common issues with labeling in the DSM-IV. Some of the categories for mental disorders are what some people would include to be everyday harmless activities. For example, if someone has a hard time learning mathematics or writing this could be labeled as a mental disorder. This is a problem only if you believe everyone was created equal. If you don’t believe that then everything is Ok. Some people are smarter then others. There are such things as dumb people. Also, an addiction to some substances like a nice cappuccino from Starbucks would be classified as a mental disorder because the individual will be viewed as having a substance abuse problem. It’s interesting caffeine is in the same category as heroin. Furthermore some individuals that do not have a mental disorder may turn out to believe that they do by simple misdiagnoses. If your doctor thinks you're crazy you must be crazy.
Labels can also have harmful side effects on the individual and cause them to lose self esteem when they think that they are mentally ill. Mad Scientists believe people use this as a excuse to act out and when confronted they plead insanity. Mad Scientists use this tactic all the time. People feel sorry for us and don't beat the "hell" out of us for many of the stupid things we do. Individuals will shun seeking help to avoid these labels. They don’t want people to think of them differently. The DSM-IV may have its critics and inaccuracies but it’s still the most comprehensive mental categorizing system currently available. I think the Army paid for most of this study. Thank God for DMS-IV! If you constantly worry the DMS guideline indicate you have some type of anxiety disorder then you probably have several. An anxiety disorder is a psychological condition that can cause a variety of abnormalities in your motor functions, like not being able to get off your fat butt to exercise. (Excercise disorder) Other examples of anxiety disorder include but are not limited to generalized anxiety disorder, phobic disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic disorder, and social anxiety disorder just to name a few. Don't you feel much better now, knowing you are not alone.
The saving grace is that as more and more classifications arise, more people will be diagnosed with some disorder. At some point the crazy people will out number the sane ones. When this occurs the crazy people become normal and the normal ones become crazy. Then all the disorders except one will have been eradicated. The once large normal population will become the minority and what was once thought of as normal will become a disorder. Then the Mad Scientists will take over the Universe!
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